


The Promised Day

by Estella May (Ariana)



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/M, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-06-15
Updated: 2016-06-21
Packaged: 2017-12-15 00:56:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 17,777
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/843432
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ariana/pseuds/Estella%20May
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of mostly slice-of-life Jerza one-shots. Chapter One: Jellal visits the Fairy Tail guild on a rainy day and has a chat with Erza on the topic of their Edolas counterparts.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Edolas Appreciation Day

"It's really pouring outside…" said Lucy as she looked out the window from her usual seat at the bar.

It had been raining all day, forcing everyone who wasn't currently out on a job to stay inside the guildhall. Lucy had spent the morning and most of the afternoon watching Natsu and Gray go through twenty-three arm wrestling matches in a row, but now she was bored and starting to think about her lack of rent money.

If only the rain would stop so she could go out on a job again…

"Isn't it best to just relax on days like these?" asked Mirajane. She rested her arms against the bar's countertop and gave Lucy a wink. "How about a glass of wine on this rainy day? There's nothing quite as relaxing as our very own vintage, and you look like you could use one."

Lucy made a face. "You're just trying to get me drunk again, Mira-san." She didn't want to go through that humiliation again. Especially since the barmaid still had pictures of the last time it happened.

"But you were so cute last time!" Mirajane clasped her hands together and smiled angelically. "And so was Natsu when he watched you passed out at the bar for hours afterward. I think he might really like you!"

"He was just watching her drool," Cana cut in. "He even said so."

"But even so," said Mirajane, completely undaunted, "would you watch someone drool for hours on end if you didn't really, truly care about them?"

Cana scratched her head. "You do have a point, but this is Natsu we're talking about."

"Ughhh..." Lucy moaned as she rested her head against the cool wooden countertop. She really hoped they would change the subject, since the current one was giving her a headache.

"Are you okay, Lucy?" asked Erza as she walked up to the bar. "Are you feeling sick? Do you need some medicine?"

"No, I'm perfectly fine!" Lucy instantly sat up straight again and faked the widest smile that she could manage. "I'm feeling great! Just peachy!" She just prayed that the act was convincing, since Erza's idea of "medicine" was six straight hours of hard training followed by force-feeding her strange "nutritious" bugs in a cup afterwards.

"Lucy, you know that weird smiles like that will give you wrinkles," said Happy as he flew by.

"That wasn't a weird smile!"

"Mmm, seems like you are fine." Erza pulled her into a hug that had her wincing as her head banged against some very hard armor. "That's good. I was getting worried."

"Poor Lucy..." Cana muttered, before shrugging and lifting up her barrel of alcohol again.

"So how about that glass of wine?" It seemed like Mirajane would not be put off.

Lucy thought for a moment and decided that yes, with her nerves in the state that they were in, a glass of wine actually did sound like the most wonderful thing in the universe right about now. She put down 30 jewels on the counter and sighed when Mirajane instantly produced the wanted article.

Fairy Tail really was going to turn her into a raging alcoholic like Cana someday.

"That looks good," said Erza. "Give me one too."

"Oh, you're not allowed to have any, Erza." Mirajane's smile was back. "Master's orders."

She looked moderately put out, but didn't argue the point. "I don't know why everyone is always so scared of me even touching alcohol."

"I wouldn't think too hard about it," said Cana. "Besides, Mirajane isn't allowed to drink either."

"What? Mira-san?" Lucy almost choked on her drink in surprise. Come to think of it, she had never seen Mirajane touch even a drop of alcohol, despite working behind the bar most of the day.

"Mirajane... tends to revert back to her childhood personality when she drinks," Erza explained.

"In other words," said Cana, "she's a mean drunk."

"Now, now, there's no need to be harsh about it," said Mirajane. "And I was such a wonderful child, so kind and trusting." Then, seeing as how Erza and Cana were sporting identical incredulous expressions on their faces, she suddenly slapped her forehead and pulled out a note from underneath the counter. "Ah, I forgot! This note came for you, Erza. I think it might be important?"

Erza grabbed the note and read it, her eyes widening. "Jellal!" It came out as a tiny scream, and she immediately ran outside without even bothering to grab an umbrella.

"My, my, what an interesting expression she had," Mirajane commented as she watched Erza leave.

"...Did you really save that note for the best moment to catch her off-guard?" Cana looked like she didn't know whether to laugh or not.

"I have no idea what you're talking about." She smiled again as she went back to her work.

Lucy shuddered as she quietly sipped her wine.

Mirajane really was kind of scary.

* * *

Erza ran down the road leading from the guild back to the girls' dormitory, her heart beating fast. Raindrops splattered against her Heart Kreuz armor as she splashed through puddles in her haste to reach her destination.

She still clutched the note in her hand, though it had already turned soggy.

_Erza_ , the note had said.  _Come to the big tree south of Fairy Hills._

It was unsigned, but she had instantly recognized the handwriting.

What was he doing, standing out in the rain on a day like this? Did he have a death wish or something?

No, she probably shouldn't ask that question.

Instead, she just cursed Jellal for his stupidity, and Mirajane for enabling him.

The tree soon came into view, a large oak situated on the green lawn south of the Fairy Hills girls' dormitory, which had stood there for as long as anyone could remember. Some even said that it was older than the town of Magnolia itself, and that the original settlers had so admired its beauty that they had simply built around it.

Erza had always been able to see it from her dormitory window, and she remembered looking longingly at the Magnolia townspeople having picnics beneath it with their children.

Today, however, there was just one lone figure standing beneath its branches. When she finally got close enough to get a good look at him, she was so surprised that she stopped in her tracks.

"How did you…" she started to say, her shock having somehow robbed her of the ability to form coherent sentences. "You're not wet," she finished lamely.

He looked immaculate and somehow completely untouched by the rain that was still pouring down over their heads.

"Thought projection," he replied, walking towards her. "Hello, Erza. It's good to see you too."

Erza mentally kicked herself. Of course a mage of his ability wouldn't just stand out in the rain like a complete dummy. Why had she assumed that he would in the first place? Was she really just that used to worrying about him, or did she really have that low of an opinion on his sense of self-preservation?

He stopped roughly two feet away from her and held up his hand. The rain suddenly started to splatter against an invisible shield that extended above and around them. "You're getting wet," he said, looking concerned. "What if you get a cold?"

Erza only just now realized that she had run out of the guild without bothering to take an umbrella. She wondered briefly what she was thinking. But of course she hadn't been thinking at all. She had just assumed that he was in trouble and rushed out to rescue him. And now he was the one worried about her. She had to laugh a little at how absurd her behavior had been, and how the situation had completely reversed itself against her.

"What is that?" she asked, wanting to change the subject.

"It's a combination of Air and Water magic, one of my own inventions," he replied. "It's amazing the things you come up with when you pretty much live out in the wild."

"It's quite something," she replied, impressed.

Jellal smiled, seemingly pleased with her praise. "I am somewhat of an elemental master, as people call them. For example, if you mix Air, Fire, and Water, then you can do this..."

The air around her started to heat up, as her clothes and hair instantly dried. Erza had a brief moment in which she imagined how useful he'd be in various household duties, but she quickly snapped back to the present. "Why did you come here today?" she asked. "Did something happen?"

He shrugged and looked a bit sheepish. "My real body is sitting in a cave in the mountains to the west, watching the rain fall while Ultear and Meredy play cards. I guess you could say that I got bored and decided to come out for a stroll."

"Do they know about this?"

"No, and let's keep it a secret from them, shall we?"

"What? Will they get angry?"

"No, because of other reasons..." His voice trailed off, and she could detect a faint blush on his cheek. "They tend to get ideas... which lead to other ideas..."

"Aha, but those ideas are completely wrong, are they not?" Erza quickly caught on and started to blush as well. "I mean, there's absolutely no reason why they should have such ideas... Mmm... no reason at all..." She was rambling now, but she couldn't stop herself, even if it did hurt on some level.

"That's right," he replied, though his blush hadn't faded.

"In any case, let's not stand out here in the rain any longer," she said, wanting to change the topic yet again. "We should go back to the guildhall where it's nice and warm. And everyone will be happy to see you again."

"Will that be okay? I don't want to get the guild into any trouble," he said, though he sounded hopeful.

"Nobody comes to the guild on official business when the weather is like this. It'll be just the guild members inside, so it should be fine," she replied. As much as she'd prefer to keep him to herself, she knew that spending a day at the guild would be good for him.

There was nothing quite as healing for the spirit as spending a day in Fairy Tail.

In any case, she was telling the truth when she said that the others would be happy to see him. In fact, she'd noticed lately how Laxus's eyes in particular seemed to light up whenever he was mentioned. Maybe it was because he reminded him of Mystogan...

Or, could it be... Was he actually interested in him? No, it couldn't be... But what if he actually was a love rival?

Erza clapped both hands against the sides of her head. "No, stop it. I am not Juvia."

Laxus might've changed, but it was clear that he could still only open up to and really be friends with someone whom he considered an equal.

"What?" Jellal had a blank look on his face.

"Err…" She hadn't realized that she'd said that out loud. "Well, we should get going! Any longer and Mirajane's going to be unbearable when we get back," she said, quickly hiding her embarrassment. "Shall we?"

"Yes." He smiled. "I'm looking forward to it."

* * *

Fairy Tail's guildhall was a large stone building that stood at the edge of a lake and at the end of one of Magnolia's main thoroughfares. It towered over all nearby structures except for Kardia Cathedral, and was imposing enough to be befitting of the most powerful guild in Fiore.

Jellal had been to Magnolia many times before, in what now felt like a previous life. He remembered what the previous building had looked like, though he'd never been inside. As Erza led him toward the building's back door, he found himself feeling slightly nervous.

"Is this your first time?" Erza turned and smiled at him, seemingly reading his thoughts.

He nodded. "I haven't been fortunate enough to visit your guild before now."

"I'll be sure to give you the grand tour then. It's a great deal bigger than our original building or the one that they were in while we were all frozen on Tenrou Island. I have to admit that I liked the original one the most, but I suppose this one is suitable for a guild that gets as many new applicants as Fairy Tail."

"Ever since the Grand Magic Games, everyone's been singing Fairy Tail's praises no matter where we go."

Fairy Tail really had become the talk of Fiore after the Games, with its tournament team being featured on the Weekly Sorcerer's cover for seven weeks in a row. He'd even seen people buying and selling figurines of the more famous members, a fact which disturbed him somewhat.

"You had a part in that too," she said, giving him a cheeky smile.

"I had the biggest and most laughable failure in the entire Games, maybe even in the history of the Games."

Erza laughed. "Ultear is a very scary person. I wouldn't want to cross her. Besides, it was kind of your fault…"

He smiled and shrugged. "That much was obvious."

"Maybe you'll get to have a rematch one day. I'm confident that you would win."

Praise from her always did make him feel warm inside. "Would you come watch it?"

"Of course. I wouldn't miss it for anything in the world, perhaps not even a special sale on cakes at my favorite bakery," she said in a completely serious tone of voice.

"I'm very much honored to know that I'm more important to you than cake," he replied in an equally serious manner.

She pouted a little bit, but he couldn't tell what she was thinking. Probably comparing his merits with that of a delicious strawberry cake and finding him vastly inferior.

"All right," she said, leaning against the double doors that led into the guildhall. "Are you ready?"

"I hope so."

Erza laughed and pushed the doors open.

The next moment, he was hit by the blast of warm air and sound coming from within the guildhall, as well as Natsu, who flew at him with his fist raised, yelling, "Fight me, Jellal!"

Or to be more accurate, that last thing just sailed through him and straight into the rain, since he was only here as a thought projection.

He didn't know whether to be surprised. The dragon slayer did have a good nose and had probably known that Erza was right outside as soon as they'd arrived.

"What are you doing?" Erza hissed at Natsu as she kicked him back into the guildhall. "Is this how we treat our guests?"

"It's okay," he said, smiling. Random violence and picking petty fights with each other was how Fairy Tail members showed affection, after all. "This is the best possible welcome that anyone could hope to receive at Fairy Tail."

"See? He doesn't mind!" Natsu laughed. "And how come I couldn't hit you?"

"I'm just here as a thought projection today. I'll have to postpone this fight until I'm back in my real body."

"I'll hold you to that promise!" Natsu grinned like Christmas had come early.

"Thought projection? Oh, that's right. You were good at those," said Gray as he appeared next to them and stuck his hand straight through Jellal's chest. "Whoa, that's kind of freaky."

"Wow, that looks fun!" Natsu exclaimed. "I want to try too!"

Erza held an arm out in front of him and said, "Nobody will be sticking anything, body parts or otherwise, inside Jellal."

"So… how is Ultear then?" asked Gray after a brief awkward pause.

"She's well, thank you for asking." Jellal wondered briefly if Gray knew that Ultear sometimes transformed into him when she needed to go into a town for something. It was probably best if he didn't know.

"Why were you gone for so long?" asked Happy. "Were you two smooch..." the cat started to say, before Erza booted him all the way up to the second floor with a painful-looking kick.

"Well then!" she said, turning to him. "How about that tour?"

"I'd like that very much." He agreed that it was probably best to be off before the conversation made an even more unfortunate turn.

"Enjoy your stay here!" Natsu called after him as he walked off with Erza.

"Yeah, don't be a stranger," said Gray.

"Thanks," he nodded and waved.

"This is the main dining area, and also where most people gather during the day," said Erza, as they walked through a large room filled with long tables. "The job request board is over there, as is the bar since Mirajane staffs both of them."

"Hello, old teammate!" Mirajane waved energetically at him from her place behind the bar. "I would offer you some of our best brew on the house, but..."

"Thank you, I appreciate the thought." He smiled and kept his distance, since Mirajane had always scared him in a way that Erza never did, even though everyone somehow insisted that Erza was the scary one.

"Hello again from me too, old teammate." Cana winked at him from behind her barrel.

"Good to see you again!" Lucy also waved as she clutched a half-full glass of wine in her other hand.

"What have you been up to lately?" asked Mirajane. "Any interesting adventures? You should tell us all about them. Maybe Lucy will even write about them in her book!"

"Nothing interesting enough to be in a book, I'm afraid. Unless it's a how-to on living in a cave."

"That's a pity. But in that case, you should come visit more often then." Mirajane's big blue eyes twinkled. "I mean, Erza isn't getting any younger…"

"I'm the same age as you," Erza snapped.

"I am very thankful for the warm welcome here," he said. "I don't think I deserve it, being…"

"Why not?" Cana interrupted. "I mean, you're basically everyone's super-hot brother-in-law who went a bit crazy back in the day but it's okay because you're super-hot and… Ouch! What did you hit me for, Erza?"

"Let's go to the next section," said Erza with gritted teeth, and he hurried to follow.

She opened a door and led him into a large chamber filled with rows and rows of bookcases. There were also a number of desks with lacrima lamps floating overhead. At the moment, the only two people inside were two blue-haired girls, both of whom looked up when they walked into the room.

"Jellal-san!" Juvia exclaimed in surprise. "What brings you here? Did Meredy come too?"

He was about to say something about rainy days and boredom, but quickly stopped himself when he remembered who he was talking to. "Erza is giving me a tour of the guild, and I'm afraid that I'm here alone this time. I hope you're well?"

"Yes, Juvia is currently studying in preparation for a job," she said, waving at the stack of books on her desk.

"Yes, this is the guild's library," said Erza. "It contains records on every job the guild has taken, as well as a large selection of books relating to every aspect of magic."

"Unfortunately I've already read them all," Levy spoke up. "But at least that means I can help whoever needs it."

"Sounds like me when I was on the Council," he smiled. "I read through all the books in their possession within a month. But speaking of which, I came into possession a while ago of a few rare books that had been missing for roughly a century. They are a very good read. If Ultear and Meredy do not object, I would be happy to donate them to your library," he said.

"Really?" Levy's eyes seemed to sparkle. "That would be wonderful! I knew you were a good person. Nobody who loves books and has blue hair could possibly be bad. I mean, us blue-haired people need to stick together, right?" She nudged Juvia, who smiled weakly. "We could make a Blue-haired People Club and have meetings where we have milk and cookies and discuss how to deal with our natural enemy, the redheads… Oh… Sorry, Erza."

"Me versus the three of you?" Erza's eyes also seemed to sparkle. "A worthy challenge. Very well, I accept."

"Even Jellal-san too?" asked Juvia, shocked.

"It's okay. I have the perfect armor to deal with him."

Jellal was about to protest and opt out of any sort of challenge, but this made him curious. "What armor?" he asked.

Erza instantly turned around and started walking out of the library. "Let's go to the next section, shall we?"

And so he had no choice but to follow.

She led him next up a flight of stairs to the second floor. There was a great deal less space up here, since the main gathering area opened up to the roof, but what space there was looked to be divided off into a series of offices and rooms. "Before our old guildhall was destroyed, it used to be that only the S-Class mages could come up to the second floor," Erza explained. "Nowadays anyone is allowed, but the public still almost never gets to come up here unless it's an applicant having an interview with the Master."

She stopped by an office with an open door and knocked twice on the doorframe. "Master, we have a visitor today."

"Who is it?" Makarov's voice came from inside the doorway. "A bunny girl, I hope!"

"No. It's an old friend."

"Old friends can be bunny girls too..." Makarov stuck his head out the door and visibly brightened when he saw him. "Oh, Jellal my boy! How have you been? Staying out of trouble, I hope."

"As much as any wanted criminal on the run can, Master Makarov."

"Oh, that," Makarov grinned. "Council members change every year. We'll continue to campaign to get a few more sympathetic types on it that'll listen to your story."

Jellal knew that something like that was easier said than done, but he appreciated the intent nonetheless. There was something to be said for having the Master of the most powerful guild in Fiore on your side. "Thank you," he said. "We are deeply indebted to you for everything that you've done for us."

Makarov waved away his thanks. "Having more sympathetic members on the Council is good for Fairy Tail too."

"The world would be a better place with more Council members like Yajima-san," he agreed.

Makarov sighed. "If only. But now I'll have to leave you two, I'm afraid. I have twelve more letters of apology to write and an entire stack of applications to go through. If only I could hurry up and retire..." He shrugged and walked back into his office. "Enjoy your visit, and feel free to bring those two nice ladies in your guild with you next time. If they want to dress up as bunny girls, all the better!"

Jellal couldn't help but laugh at the thought of Ultear in a bunny girl costume. She'd probably sooner put him in one than do it herself.

"I have a collection of twenty different bunny girl costumes if they'd like to look at them," said Erza.

"Err..." He was a bit taken aback. She collected them? Why? Did she walk around the guild in them or something? Was he going to have to come back more often to see them? "Thank you for the offer. I'll be sure to let them know."

She nodded approvingly. "It'll be good to have more people who appreciate them than just Lucy and me. Let's go on to the next section."

Erza left the Master's office and walked along a corridor that also served as a balcony that overlooked the main gathering area below. On the other side was a series of evenly spaced doors. "Since everyone is allowed up to the second floor now, the Master gave each of the S-Class mages their own private room if we'd like to have some privacy," she said, gesturing towards the doors. "The first one is Mirajane's and the second one is mine. We both mostly use it as storage space since we're almost always downstairs with the guild. Laxus almost never comes out of his. I actually don't think Gildarts has ever been in his room." She smiled a little. "I doubt that Mystogan was ever in his room either. It was empty when we went in to clean it out after he left the guild."

Jellal felt a sinking feeling in his stomach. It was his fault that his Edolas counterpart had never gotten to form the bonds with his guild that everyone else treasured so much. "I wonder sometimes what he thought of me," he said. "Coming here in order to save both worlds, only to find out that your counterpart was trying to destroy this one."

Erza gave him a sympathetic smile. "Well, he is you, so shouldn't you know?

"I'm not sure that I would agree with that. He was a much better person than me."

"Different circumstances might have made us develop in different ways, but we and our Edolas counterparts are still truly the same people. For example, my own counterpart…"

Her reply was cut off by a door opening further down the corridor.

"Oh, it's you," said Laxus as he walked towards them. "I was wondering who was out here. Welcome to Fairy Tail, old buddy."

"It's good to see you too, Laxus." He smiled at seeing his old teammate. Makarov had originally assigned Laxus to teach him how to act like Mystogan since he had known him best. And then the normally aloof Laxus had somehow ended up taking a liking to him. He wasn't sure why, but he had learned not to question these things in regards to Fairy Tail.

"Oi, Erza," said Laxus, turning to her, "how about you hand him over to me for a while?"

"Why?" she asked in a vaguely suspicious tone.

He shrugged. "So we can have a nice man-to-man chat."

She looked a bit reluctant but shrugged as she walked back downstairs, pausing at the bar to hit Cana upside the head again.

"She's wrong, you know," Laxus said as he sat down against the wall. "I'm not in my room all the time. Sometimes I like to just sit here and watch."

When he sat down next to him, Jellal could see what he meant. This location gave them a commanding view of the entire main area downstairs. He imagined that Laxus sometimes just sat here, watching over the very lively guild that he would someday lead. He didn't envy him that position. His own guild of three was enough to manage, even though they had agreed that all three of them would be equals and co-guildmasters.

Downstairs, Natsu and Gray had gotten into a fight again, with most of the others cheering them on. He spotted Erza chatting happily with Lucy by the bar, and smiled. Seeing her happy always made him happy as well.

"She's a fine woman," said Laxus once he noticed what Jellal was staring at. "A bit weird, but I guess some guys like that."

"Weird?" he asked, confused. "But Erza is perfect."

"Perfect?" Laxus laughed. "She's a good friend, but I wouldn't call her perfect, far from it actually."

"But she is," he insisted as he watched Erza break up the fight between Natsu and Gray by banging their heads together. "She's kind, gentle, supportive, caring, and wonderful."

"Good grief, is this what happens to guys when they..." Laxus's voice trailed off. "Well, back over here in reality, she's incredibly impatient, quite fond of corporal punishment, has a mean streak a mile wide, and probably spends a normal person's monthly rent on cake each week."

"And she deserves to be with someone who can provide her all the cake she can eat and more."

"I guess it's hopeless trying to convince you," Laxus laughed and sighed. He stretched out his legs and waved at the view below. "This is nice, just sitting here and relaxing, isn't it?"

"It is."

"Then you should come more often, not just to see Erza, but me too."

"What?" asked Jellal, surprised.

"Since you don't appear to have a best friend, I'm nominating myself for the position."

"Erza is my best friend," he replied automatically.

"Sure she is," Laxus rolled his eyes. "I meant a best buddy, like the way she is with Lucy."

He wasn't sure how to respond to having something like this sprung on him all of a sudden. But then again, Laxus was a Fairy Tail wizard, and Fairy Tail wizards were the type to grab you by the collar and smother you with friendship until you had no choice but to give in. It was something he'd always admired about them, since he was almost the complete opposite. Maybe he had once been like that, when he was younger, but not anymore.

"I'd like that very much," he said and held out his hand. "Shall we shake on it?"

Laxus laughed and took his hand. "Best friends?"

"Best friends."

"You two up there," Mirajane yelled at them from downstairs. "Come join us for dinner!"

"Well, you heard the lady." Laxus instantly stood up and started walking downstairs. "You can still come join us even if you can't eat anything, right?"

"Yes, I suppose."

They went downstairs and saw everyone starting to sit down at various tables. Laxus invited him to go join him and the Raijinshuu, but noted that he would probably rather want the conveniently empty place next to Erza. The rest of her team was already seated on the other side of the table. Jellal thanked him and decided to claim that spot. They were soon joined by Cana and Mirajane.

Dinner was a hearty beef stew with potatoes and carrots. It looked good enough that he wished he had come in person.

"I must say, it's strange seeing you out of the Mystogan getup," said Cana, gesturing at his blue cloak and coat with her spoon.

"That must be because Lucy's the only one around here who changes her outfit every week, so we're just not very used to change," said Mirajane.

"Are you trying to imply something!" Lucy exclaimed.

"That's true..." said Natsu with his mouth half full of food. "I mean, I have my scarf. Erza has her armor. Gray has his underwear. Happy has his bag. And Lucy has whatever clothes that we haven't drooled on when we're sleeping over at her house!"

"Lucy does have a very good selection of Heart Kreuz outfits," Erza said approvingly. "If only they'd fit me better..."

"Don't forget the underwear," said Gray. "I always see you blushing whenever Natsu goes through her underwear drawer."

"Can we please not talk about my underwear!"

"Well, if it's an issue, then I can always change," he said, focusing for a bit and changing the image of his thought projection into the outfit that he wore while at the Grand Magic Games.

"Wow, that was cool!" said Natsu. "Do it again!"

"Natsu, we do not treat our friends as circus acts." Erza's face was twitching slightly.

"I wonder how Mystogan's been doing the last seven years," said Lucy. "I hope he's well."

"Didn't you guys say he was the king?" asked Cana. "He should be doing great. I mean, he has all the alcohol he can drink and more."

"Some people might think there's more to life than just alcohol," said Mirajane.

"I'm sure he's doing well," said Erza. "He grew up here, like most of us. And he has the Edolas Fairy Tail to support him as well."

"That's true," said Mirajane. "And I have to admit that I'm still a bit jealous that you lot got to meet our counterparts from that world. It must've been a very interesting experience."

"It was pretty interesting," Gray agreed, "but it also made us appreciate our own version of Fairy Tail that much more. I mean, Edolas me was covered with so many layers that he looked like a giant ball."

"And I'm sure glad that we have our Lucy and not Scary Lucy!" Natsu exclaimed, throwing an arm around her.

"Umm, thank you?" Lucy looked like she didn't know whether to be flattered or not.

"Not to mention the Edolas version of Erza," Gray shuddered.

Both Natsu and Lucy turned slightly green.

Jellal was surprised. What on earth could the Edolas version of Erza be like if she had this sort of effect on them? But try as he might, he couldn't imagine Erza as anything but the one that sat next to him. "What was she like?" he asked, curious.

"Kind of like Erza, just evil," said Gray.

"She wasn't evil," Erza cut in. "Just misguided."

"She tried to kill me!" Lucy exclaimed.

"Well to be accurate, the entire Edolas Army was trying to kill us because their King ordered them to," said Erza. She smiled and looked thoughtful. "I still have her clothes too."

"And why do you have her clothes, exactly?" asked Cana.

"I knocked her out and stripped her. It was for Plan D."

"Yeah, D for Dummy!" said Natsu.

"Too bad it didn't work." Gray shrugged. "It was such a great plan too."

Jellal was sure that he wasn't the only one wondering why a plan called Plan Dummy was so praiseworthy, but he neglected to ask. Instead, he just sat and watched while Erza exquiped into something that could best be described as a metal war bikini. Her hair was gathered up in a loose knot with her bangs covering one eye, and she wore a scarf around her neck.

He had to admit that he didn't particularly like it. It looked more like the sort of outfit that the women in those dark guilds that Crime Sorciere had destroyed were usually dressed in than something that Erza would wear.

"It's not something that I would've picked myself," Erza said, echoing his thoughts, "but it does offer plenty of mobility in battle. Which I guess she needed, with that spear of hers."

"She did have very lovely hair, though," said Mirajane.

"Ah, yes. She cut that all off."

"Mira-nee?" asked Lisanna as she walked up to them holding another barrel of alcohol. "Where do you want…?" Her question was cut off as she caught sight of Erza and instantly dropped what she was holding, now white as a ghost. "It's you… You..."

"Lisanna?" Mirajane stood up and rushed to her sister's side. "What's wrong, Lisanna?"

"It's all my fault," Erza said as she hurriedly exquiped back into her usual armor. "I didn't realize... No, I can't believe I didn't even think about it. Please, forgive my thoughtlessness! You may hit me if you'd like."

"I don't think that's what Lisanna needs right now," said Mirajane, frowning at her.

"No, it's okay," said Lisanna, having recovered some of her color. "It was just such a shock to see the Fairy Hunter again after all this time." She laughed a little. "In fact, I feel a bit silly now for reacting the way I did."

Jellal was also alarmed at the girl's reaction at seeing Erza, but he wasn't sure how to ask about it in a tactful manner. Lucy noticed his confusion and said, "Erza Knightwalker killed maybe half of the mages in Edolas Fairy Tail, from what I hear. They even called her the Fairy Hunter. It must be a huge shock for Lisanna to see her, since she spent two years with them, constantly on the run from her."

He couldn't believe his ears. Edolas Erza was actually someone who could murder members of Fairy Tail in cold blood? No, he refused to believe that any version of Erza could do something like that. She was the one person who most embodied all that was good and noble for him. But there was no questioning Lisanna's look of pure fear when she had caught sight of her.

He felt so confused that his concentration wavered and his thought projection flickered in and out of existence a bit.

"Jellal? What's wrong?" Erza looked at him in alarm.

He looked up and realized that while he was having his moment of existential crisis, Mirajane had departed with her sister and was now at the bar, coaxing the younger girl into drinking something to calm down. The others had finished their dinner and were now looking at him in concern.

"I just had a small headache," he said, feeling a bit uncomfortable with everyone's eyes fixed on him.

"Oh, I see," she said, though the look in her eyes showed that she wasn't fooled even one bit. "Maybe it'd be a good idea if you returned and rested then."

"That is a good idea," he said, and stood up.

"I'll see you off then." She stood up as well.

"I would like that." He made a brief, awkward bow towards the others. "Thank you everyone for the wonderful day. I don't know how to repay all the kindness that you've shown me."

"Don't worry about it," said Gray. "And say hi to Ultear for me."

"I hope you feel better soon," said Lucy.

"Come back anytime," added Cana.

"And remember that you promised to fight me!" Natsu grinned.

"How could I ever forget?" Jellal gave him a wry smile as he followed Erza outside.

* * *

The rain had stopped by the time Erza opened the guildhall's back door. The clouds above were starting to break apart, revealing glimpses of the starry sky beyond.

She breathed in deeply and sighed, feeling recharged again. The air smelled so wonderfully fresh after being cooped up inside for hours.

The guild's back water park area was almost flooded after a full day's worth of rain, so she picked a small paved path that led to the lake's edge.

She turned around and waited for Jellal to catch up, feeling a bit uneasy because she couldn't hear his footsteps behind her. His thought projection was still there, though a bit fainter than it had been before.

She shivered a little. He looked almost like a ghost.

This wasn't how she thought the day would turn out.

"I hope you had a good time today?" she asked, smiling.

"I did," he nodded.

"But something still upset you. Was it what Lucy told you about Erza Knightwalker?" Erza decided to get straight to the point.

He gave her a faint smile. "I think if it wasn't for Lisanna's reaction, I wouldn't have believed a word of it."

"Why not? Is it so hard to believe that under different circumstances, I could have been one of the villains, while you were the hero who saved the world?"

"It is a bit hard to believe, yes," he said, deciding to ignore the second part of her question. "You have always been my ideal of everything that is good in this world. I can't see how someone as innately good as yourself could ever do the things that she did."

She couldn't help but feel a bit frustrated at how much of an idealist he still was. "It is our friends and experiences that make us who we are, not just our own innate goodness of lack thereof. Erza Knightwalker had a very different life than me, growing up in a world where she was a soldier under a corrupt king who was bent on monopolizing all the magic in the world for himself. She didn't get to have the experience of growing up in Fairy Tail. She didn't get to meet Gray, who'd tell her never to cry alone, or Natsu, who'd tell her that she needed to live for her friends... There was no Mirajane to get into petty fights with, or Lucy to bring warmth and happiness into her life. And most of all, she didn't have you."

He looked shocked. "Me?"

"She didn't have someone who was always a beacon of light in a dark place." Erza smiled a little as the memories came flooding back. "Someone who could cheer her up and make her smile with just a word, no matter how bleak things seemed to be. Someone who stayed strong and showed no fear, even if everyone else was scared."

He stopped and looked her straight in the eye. "I was just as scared as anyone else. I just put on an act because... I wanted to see you smile."

She stopped as well and couldn't help but laugh. Here she was trying to convince him not to hold her up as an ideal of goodness, while he ended up doing the same to her. "You were my ideal of all that was good in the world back then too," she confessed. "Wanting to be more like you was what gave me the strength to live on and fight against our captors."

"But now I see that we were and still are just two normal people who are who they are thanks to their friends and continue to live on for them."

Erza nodded and smiled. "I'm glad we understand each other now."

"And if the Erza of that world really is still you at heart, then I know that she is doing her best to help rebuild her world."

"I think that both the Erza and Jellal of that world are working together to rebuild Edolas into something that they can be proud of."

He smiled. "You're right."

They stood near the edge of the lake, where the waters reflected the twinkling lights of the town as they started to light up.

"Erza," he said, stepping closer towards her, and her heart jumped when she realized that his form had suddenly turned completely solid. He must've just now supplied his thought projection with enough power to give it physical form. He put his arms around her, and she could feel his breath on her cheek. "Thank you so much for this day. I love... this guild and everyone in it."

"I'm happy you came," she said, wrapping her arms around him as well.

This wasn't how she had expected the day would turn out, but she was still glad that it did all the same.

"Until the next rainy day then..." he said, gradually fading away until she was left grasping nothing but air.

"Yes," she smiled. "See you."

* * *

"Ah, the rain's stopped." Lucy somehow found herself seated back in the same place that she was at several hours ago.

"I'm surprised that you managed to stay completely sober," said Mirajane, sounding slightly disappointed.

"What were you expecting me to do!"

"You're getting better at this," said Cana. She gave her a thumbs-up. "Keep it up and you might challenge me someday."

Lucy shuddered. "I'd probably die of liver failure first."

"Erza's been out there for a while," said Levy. "I wonder what she's doing."

"I can hazard a guess." Cana smirked. "It'd probably be too much for Lucy's pure ears though."

"Oh?" Levy smirked as well. "I can lend you some of the same books that Erza reads if you want, Lu-chan. It can be research for your novel." She waggled her eyebrows.

"Does Gajeel know you read those books?" Lucy smiled sweetly.

"Well... No..." Levy turned a bit red.

"Gajeel-kun probably wouldn't mind if he did," said Juvia. "Maybe he'll even read them with you."

"Erza!" Levy shrieked as she came back inside the guildhall, apparently overjoyed to see her again. "Err...what's wrong?"

Erza looked a bit dazed as she walked straight up to Juvia and grabbed her by the front of her dress. "Juvia, are you able to make it rain in an area of at least one hundred square kilometers?" she demanded, shaking the younger girl.

"No, Juvia is not that powerful..." she replied, looking genuinely frightened.

Cana laughed. "You'd better step it up then, or Erza's never going to get married at this rate."

"Ma...married..." Erza turned bright red as she dropped Juvia and started blubbering.

"Erza's getting married?" Lucy exclaimed. "Oh, how wonderful! You're going to make me maid of honor, right? Since we're in the same team?"

"No way!" said Levy. "Erza and I grew up together in Fairy Hills and all, so I should get to be maid of honor!"

"I wouldn't really bother arguing about it if I were you," said Cana. "Mirajane probably has enough blackmail material to be named maid of honor at everyone's weddings."

"That's why you were trying to get me drunk?" Lucy's jaw dropped open in shock.

"I'm going to plan all of them too." Mirajane gave them a beatific smile. "They're going to be absolutely perfect. If only you lot would stop dawdling about and make it happen already."

"Oops, did I give away your plan?" Cana laughed.

"Cana, no alcohol for the next three days."

"Heeeey!"

"Mirajane really is kind of evil, but also kind of awesome," said Levy.

Lucy couldn't help but nod and agree.

She looked outside and saw that the stars were starting to come out. Maybe it was because she was a celestial mage, but it always made her feel so calm and happy, just looking up at the stars. Speaking of which, that gave her an idea.

"Hey everyone," she said. "Since we've been cooped up inside all day, how about we go stargazing on the lawn where the big tree is outside Fairy Hills? I'll bring my waterproof blanket!"

"Great idea, Lu-chan! I'll bring my telescope," said Levy.

"Juvia can clear out any remaining clouds," said the water mage.

"I'll bring the drinks," said Mirajane.

"And... I'll bring Erza," said Cana as she grabbed the still-blubbering Titania by the arm.

"All right! Let's go!" Lucy led the way, feeling incredibly happy.

Just another day in Fairy Tail.


	2. Blue Pegasus Appreciation Day

One good deed a day.

That was his motto.

Or at least it had been for the past three or so months, ever since things had finally started to go right in his life.

Everything was just so right, from his guild members finally finding long-lost family members and getting to live a normal life, to Meredy being happy with her new boyfriend who likely wasn't an axe murdering psycho as far as he could tell? And him being able to see Erza whenever he wanted.

Everything was just so right.

Too right.

Erza might constantly tell him that he thought and worried too much, but he figured that it was better to be safe than sorry.

And right now he couldn't help but think that the universe was setting him up for some truly horrible fall, as soon as he started to relax and enjoy his newfound good fortune.

Jellal had never been a huge believer in karma, but if one good deed a day might help stave off disaster, then he was all for it.

The problem was that after a while, it became slightly difficult to think of more good deeds to do. There were only so many cats one could rescue from trees, especially when the cats scurried down trees now on their own and fled from his sight. So he hit upon the idea of repaying old debts. Surely there was much good karma to found in that.

And that was why Jellal found himself in front of Blue Pegasus this day, because he had an old debt that needed to be repaid. Or so he reminded himself as he waited outside for his kind benefactor to come out.

"Ichiya is here," said the man in question, suddenly descending from the sky before him. "For you."

"Ahh..." Jellal barely suppressed a scream since Ichiya's very large and very square face was briefly mere inches away from his own. He started to feel the first inkling of misgivings over coming here. Erza did say he was completely nuts for even entertaining the idea...

"What can we do for you, Jellal-kun?" Ichiya asked, and then proceeded to...sniff him.

Jellal knew that Blue Pegasus was a bit strange, but he'd heard that they only behaved this way towards females. So what on earth possessed Ichiya to act this way towards him?

"I...ahhh...I've come here to give my very belated thanks to you for fighting on my behalf against the Council all those years ago. You risked imprisonment for me, a complete stranger and a wanted criminal. If there's anything I can do to repay that debt, please don't hesitate to ask."

Ichiya snapped his fingers and his followers, the Trimen, instantly appeared out of nowhere. Did they all know teleportation magic or something? Being able to surprise him like that was no small feat.

"A wonderful parfum!" Ichiya bellowed into his face, spraying him with spit. "The parfum of friendship forged through fire and water and much hardship! What say you to Jellal-kun's noble request?"

"I suppose he could clean up well and look presentable if not in those tacky clothes," said Eve.

Before Jellal had a chance to protest that his clothes were in fact not tacky, Ren chimed in. "He should work out better than Fairy Tail, not that not burning down the guild is any sort of accomplishment."

"As expected from my former rival," said Hibiki.

His former what? Jellal was confused. But he also wasn't sure that he wanted to ask.

"Then it's settled! Jellal-kun will work at our guild for three days, and then we will consider this debt repaid! A magnificent idea!"

"Your best idea yet, Ichiya-sama!"

"Ichiya-sensei's wisdom truly is something to behold."

"Three cheers for Ichiya-shishou!"

The Trimen broke out into some sort of interpretive dance. They were this excited for his sake? Jellal couldn't help but feel touched. And all they wanted was for him to work at Blue Pegasus for three days? It sounded quite interesting. He'd get to observe the inner workings of another guild quite closely. Maybe he could pick up some useful pointers that could be of benefit for his own guild members.

Then he noticed that the four Blue Pegasus member were all observing him with a rather critical eye.

"What color do you think suits him?" Ichiya asked the other three.

"Maybe baby blue?" Ren suggested. "It would bring out the color of his eyes."

"That sort of color suits the cute type like Eve better," said Hibiki. "Speaking of which, what is your type going to be?"

"My what?" Jellal wasn't sure why the conversation had suddenly turned towards the color of his eyes.

"Your role," Hibiki said. "Here at Blue Pegasus, we aim to provide the ultimate customer experience to our clients. As you know, we've been rated #1 in Weekly Sorcerer's customer satisfaction survey for thirty-two months in a row."

"All thanks to Ichiya-sama's guidance."

"Without him, we'd probably be on the same level as Lamia or Sabertooth. Or worse...Fairy Tail."

Hibiki shuddered a little. "Well thank goodness that is not the case. But as I was saying, customer service is of the utmost importance at Blue Pegasus, and everyone who joins the guild learns this on their very first day."

"I understand," said Jellal. He was in fact quite impressed with the dedication that they displayed towards assuring customer satisfaction. Maybe his guild members really could learn from them.

"Towards that end," Hibiki continued, "we anticipate all their needs and try to ensure that they feel at the utmost ease. To facilitate that, we've adopted the practice of learning the arts of conversation and applying them through our designated roles. Eve is the little brother type, Ren is the tsundere type, while I'm more of the prince type. That means your role cannot overlap with any of ours, understood?"

"Ahh, yes." Jellal tried to imagine the other males in his guild acting these sorts of roles. Macbeth trying to be cute. Richard as a prince. Erik as a healing type. He instantly reversed his previous evaluation. He did not want anyone in his guild to ever come here.

"If we put glasses on him, he could probably come off as the cool, serious, intellectual type," Eve suggested.

"That would never work with that tattoo." Ren immediately shot down the idea. "The clients would never buy it."

"Ahh, that's right. So maybe a bad boy type instead?" Eve immediately brightened up. "It'd be perfect. We don't have any of those here."

"Good idea," said Ren. "Your reputation certainly precedes you, so why not play to your strengths?"

Jellal quickly waved his hands. "That's impossible. That's the complete opposite of who I try to be."

Hibiki placed a hand on his shoulder and gave him an absolutely sparkling smile. "If it's for the good of the guild, we all must make sacrifices, is that not right?"

"Yes, I have decided!" Ichiya leaped up onto Ren and Hibiki's shoulders. "Jellal-kun's type will be the suave, arrogant bad boy type!"

"What a masterful idea!"

"Only Ichiya-sensei could come up with something so perfect!"

"Aren't you grateful to Ichiya-sama for such a wonderful role?"

Jellal still wasn't entirely comfortable with this idea, but if everyone was depending on him? And it was just for three days. And to think of all the good karma to be gained helping them. He pulled out his trusty communications lacrima and hit number one on his speed dial.

Ichiya immediately perked up, as if sensing who was on the call. Jellal literally had to pick him up by the collar and hold him at arms length to stop him from sniffing the phone.

"Jellal?" asked Erza as soon as she picked up. "Are you done at Blue Pegasus already?"

"No, I'm going to be here for the next three days, working at the guild," he replied. "Could you make my excuses for my guild? Tell them I'm sick, or tied up somewhere. Just...keep them far away from here."

"Then I'll tell them that you're sick and tied up in my closet."

"Err...that works, I think."

"Good luck with Blue Pegasus," she said before hanging up. "And don't set anything on fire."

"That settles it," said Hibiki, smiling.

"Do we have to be in character all the time?" Jellal asked. He was starting to get serious now, and he needed to make sure that he did everything exactly right.

"Yes," Hibiki replied. "In fact, you may begin...now."

"I see." Jellal ran a hand through his hair, slicking it back slightly. Then he took off his coat and slung it over his shoulder, before ripping open his collar to reveal his throat. "Are you sure that's wise?"

"Don't worry about your wardrobe, we can provide that," said Eve.

"That won't be necessary," he said, leaning forward to examine Eve's necktie. It was a pleasing shade of blue, and it really would bring out the color of his eyes. He slowly undid it before pulling it off and looping it haphazardly around his own neck. "I think this will suit me just fine," he whispered in Eve's ear before running a finger along the younger man's jawline and down to his neck.

"Eep." Eve turned a rather unattractive shade of red. A pity, but one couldn't expect lesser hosts such as these to keep up an appearance of perfection at all times.

"Jellal-kun, you can't just go taking people's clothes..." Ichiya started to say, before he was interrupted by a sudden popping sound. Then he looked down and noticed that he was in fact now standing in his underwear in public.

"One picks up a few things after spending so much time with Erza," Jellal said, brushing a few specks of dust off the wonderfully spotless white suit he was now wearing. "Useful little trick, this one. She uses it to steal...ahh, borrow cute outfits that catch her interest. Bunny girls, maid outfits, nurse uniforms... Isn't that wonderful? Isn't she wonderful? The four of you could only dream of being half the woman that she is."

The Trimen stared at Ichiya, who stared back. Perhaps the four of them were starting to realize that they had bitten off more than they could chew.

"Yes," said Ren, taking a few steps backwards while clutching at his clothes, as if they could fall off at any moment. "Wonderful..."

"Where are you going?" Jellal asked, before walking up to him and holding him in a tight embrace. "There's no need to be nervous, as long as you've done nothing wrong. Or have you? Do you require punishment?" He pushed Ren back, and the other man instantly sank to the ground.

"What is this..." Ren gasped as a bind snake appeared on his skin, holding him immobile.

"I'm so sorry, Jellal-sama!" Eve cried as he also sank to the ground. "I confess...I ate Hibiki's chocolate cupcake this morning without asking permission...I also require...punishment."

Hibiki also sank to the ground. "I borrowed one of Ren's suits without asking...and I spilled strawberry jam on it...and it was one of his favorites...I'm so sorry, Jellal-sama. Please punish me."

"MEN!~" Ichiya twirled about, still in his underwear, before sinking down to the ground next to the Trimen. "Forgiveness is a most wonderful parfum! I have a lock of Erza's hair that I snipped off ten years ago when she wasn't looking...perhaps I require punishment as well."

"You did what?"

The clouds above them suddenly started to clear, as he started to release his S side, or was that his magic power? Or both? Perhaps to the Blue Pegasus members now cowering before him, it did not really matter.

* * *

 

What was a little sister supposed to be like?

Refreshing! Calming! Cute!

Or so said the magazine that Kagura was staring at as she sat alone in a corner of Mermaid Heel's cafe.

Was she any of those things?

She closely examined herself with an unbiased eye, and after a few minutes, decided that the answer was - no, not at all.

Kagura sighed and hung her head.

"What's wrong, Kagura-chan?" Milliana came up to her with two drinks on her tray. "Something got you down?"

"Milliana," she said quite seriously, "how can I become more cute?"

"Cute?" Milliana seemed rather stunned by the question, since she froze in place and Kagura could practically see the gears moving in her head. "Cute doesn't really suit you, Kagura-chan. You're supposed to be strong and fierce and scary since that's part of your charm."

Kagura sighed. She appreciated the brutal honesty, but it didn't help solve her problem at all.

"Why the sudden question about being cute?" Milliana handed her a drink and set one down by herself as well.

"I was reading this article about all the benefits of little sisters and realized that I'm nothing at all like what they said...so I'm not sure if I'm doing it right."

"But you were a little sister yourself, so you should know all about it!"

"That was so long ago...I've been so focused on...other things that I've almost forgotten all about it. And anyways, I was thinking that maybe Erza would like me more if I was more like the little sisters in this article..."

"Oh ahaha!" Milliana laughed and clapped her hands together. "I don't think you need to worry about that. Er-chan has...rather different tastes than normal people. I think she probably likes you just fine!"

"I'm not sure if I'm supposed to take that as a compliment. And Erza likes cute things, doesn't she?"

"Er-chan likes lots of things. She absolutely loves strawberry cake but that doesn't mean you should go about turning yourself into one."

"I hate cake..." Kagura grumbled and fell face first into the magazine. "I knew I was a failure as a little sister..."

"Err...well...what magazine are you reading anyway?" Milliana asked and pulled the magazine away from her. "Sorcerer Weekly Lifestyle Special Edition? Who knew they even had these..."

"I took it from Arania's room," Kagura replied, still with her face planted on the table. "I hate magazines."

"Well, this one seems quite interesting, I think? Look, they have a section on Heart Kreuz's new spring/summer collection for the active working mage."

"I've never cared for frivolous things like fashion."

"Ah, there's also a feature on Blue Pegasus's host club! It looks kind of interesting. Maybe we could go sometime? They're famous for their customer service so maybe we could pick up some useful pointers from them."

Kagura felt a shiver go up her spine. Go talk to unfamiliar men for hours on end? "I think I'd rather shave my head... Ahh, did I say that out loud?"

Milliana probably wisely chose not to comment and continued flipping through the magazine while Kagura continued to wallow in her own misery. Yes, she was absolutely miserable and nothing could change that, nothing except...

Ringgggggg

Kagura instantly sat up straight and clutched at the communications lacrima in the pouch fastened around her waist. Could it be? There were only five people who knew this number and four of them were in the close vicinity of the cafe.

She cleared her throat and put on her best serious air. "Kagura Mikazuchi speaking."

"I hope you're not busy today," said a very familiar voice on the other end of the line.

"Erza? No, not particularly..."

"Good. I need you to accompany me somewhere."

Kagura could feel her spirits being lifted immediately. Could it be? Erza wanted to spend the day with her? And just her? A whole day basking in her big sister's full attention? Oh, could anyone ask for anything more?

"We're going to Blue Pegasus's host club," Erza continued. "I assume that's okay?"

Kagura felt the shiver go up her spine again but she put on her bravest face. "Oh, that sounds...quite nice..."

"Good. Meet me outside of their train station in an hour."

She stared at her communications lacrima for a few seconds once Erza had hung up, and then at the magazine that Milliana was still flipping through.

"Sorry Milliana, but it's an emergency," she said, snatching the magazine out of her friend's hands.

"What? Are you okay?" Milliana sounded worried.

"I have fifty-nine minutes and thirty-three seconds before I have to meet Erza in front of Blue Pegasus's local train station. That's forty-seven minutes of train travel, assuming no delays, which leaves me six minutes of on-foot travel to the station, and only six minutes to get ready to spend a day with my big sister. No, I am decidedly not okay. Not to mention that she wants to go to this...host club thing. I can't just go in not knowing what to expect! I have to study all the possible threats! Erza is depending on me!"

"Huh? Er-chan wants to go to a host club? That's kind of weird."

Milliana clearly wasn't asking the correct questions, but that didn't matter. Kagura briefly glanced at the clock on the wall and considered maybe using gravity magic to give her enough lift to reach the station in one leap. But then again, that had caused a lot of trouble the last time since she had more or less smashed the entire platform on arrival.

"Can't talk, I have to go," she said, dashing out with the magazine clutched in one hand.

"Well have fun, Kagura-chan! I can't wait to hear all about your day," Milliana giggled behind her.

* * *

 

Kagura glanced at the train station's clock tower immediately upon arriving at the agreed upon location.

Good, she still had three minutes to spare. She breathed a sigh of relief, and looked back at the magazine in her hand. She had read the host club feature five times in a row on the train to ensure that she had extracted all the necessary information.

To tell the truth, she thought it wasn't that bad of an idea. Maybe they could even have a host day at the cafe sometime as a special event to bring in more business. Milliana could definitely play a cute type. And maybe she could ask Erza to come help out as a prince type.

As for herself...she wasn't exactly sure? But one type did sort of catch her eye. What was it called again? ...Tsundere?

"Ah, that was a very good article," said a voice from behind her shoulder. "Very informative."

"Ahh!" Kagura jumped and turned around, clutching the magazine to her chest. "I was just sort of glancing over it... It's not like I'm actually interested in a host club or anything."

"Oh?" Erza raised an eyebrow. "My apologies for asking you to come then. I had thought that this might be fun."

"That's not what I meant! I'm sure this will be a lot of fun. So much fun!"

"Well then, let's get down to business."

Erza grabbed her by the arm and started dragging her away from the platform and into a nearby alleyway. One that was completely deserted.

"Erza?" Kagura was a bit confused. Not that she didn't enjoy being alone with Erza, or being lightly manhandled by Erza... But this was rather out of the ordinary.

"Shh! Shh!" Erza clamped a hand over her mouth. "You're too loud!"

"Mmmph!"

"This is a top secret undercover mission that we're about to undertake. Absolute secrecy and discretion is required at all times. Understood?"

Still with Erza's hand covering her mouth, Kagura could only nod in agreement.

"Good." Erza removed her hand and leaned in to ask, "Due to the delicate nature of our mission, we'll have to use a disguise. Do you know transformation magic?"

"I've never had occasion to learn it..." Kagura was still rather confused. An undercover mission at Blue Pegasus's host club? She had never done anything of the like, but if Erza was depending on her, then she absolutely would not let her big sister down.

"I'm sure you'll be able to pick it up immediately. Just follow my instructions. First, build up an image in your head of what you want to transform into."

Kagura's heart leapt. This! This was her opportunity! To transform into the refreshing, calming, cute little sister that she was meant to be! All she had to do was build up the image in her mind. She closed her eyes and began imagining her new self with all her might.

"Good, very good. Now build up your magic power into that image... Good, now release it!"

There was a popping sound and Kagura opened her eyes, eager to see her new super refreshing, calming, and cute self.

Then she looked down at herself.

And realized that nothing had changed.

Except for the fact that her chest was now flat.

"I-I'm sorry Erza, I completely lack imagination." Kagura released her transformation with another pop. She was absolutely devastated. And who could blame her? She had such an amazing chance handed to her and she had completely blown it.

"Well...I suppose it's not bad for your first try." Erza gave her a sympathetic smile and it was all Kagura could do to not bury her head in her big sister's chest and cry.

"I tried really hard, I did. I wanted to turn into a perfect little sister but then I completely failed..."

"Little sister, eh? Well, we can work with that." Erza closed her eyes and a few moments later, there was another pop. "What do you think? I bet we can pass as sisters, or at the very least, cousins."

Standing in front of her now was an unfamiliar girl who had the same color hair and height as her, as well as similar features.

"Erza...? That's you? Oh, it is you! I can't believe it. I'm so happy! It's like we're real sisters." Kagura wiped tears away from her eyes. As disappointed as she had been a minute ago, she couldn't believe how happy she was now. A full day with her big sister, who even transformed so they could look like real sisters. This was the best day of her life. And nothing could ruin it. Nothing at all.

"Now we're ready to go check on Jellal."

"...What?"

"Oh, I guess I forgot to mention. Jellal called me two days ago and said he was going to be working at Blue Pegasus for three days. Then I haven't heard anything from him ever since. To be quite honest, I was rather surprised. Natsu, Gray, Lucy, and I only managed to last about an hour in there. I thought he'd last at most a day, but it seems like nothing's happened so far? Well, at the very least I thought it would be amusing to go undercover as a client and check up on him. Don't you agree?"

"Oh, I see..." Kagura could feel her joyous mood crashing down in an instant. In fact, she was getting a bit dizzy at all these mood swings. But she knew whose fault it was.

Jellal.

She gritted her teeth. All she ever wanted was her big sister's full, undivided attention for a day, but he just had to come along and ruin it. Again. And again.

"But I'm going to have my revenge," she muttered out loud, not realizing what she was doing until she noticed that Erza was staring at her. "...ahh, oops. Force of habit."

She smiled angelically at Erza, who looked a bit worried at first, though that quickly passed.

"Okay, if anyone asks, I'm your cousin...Kaguya. Yes, that works."

Kagura nodded, wondering just how well this undercover mission was going to go.

Well, that really just depended on how good Erza's acting skills were.

* * *

 

If there was one thing Erza loved almost as much as being a mage, it was acting.

To step into a completely different person's shoes, to experience their joys and sorrows, and to bask in the audience's appreciation for her very well-honed skills - was such a thing not wonderful?

Not to mention the very fine and cute costumes that she would get to wear.

Yes, Erza was always on the lookout for an opportunity to partake in the joys of acting.

Which was why the idea of going undercover with a transformation came so naturally to her.

A marvelous idea, to be sure, one that promised great fun. And certainly also appreciation from her audience once they realized that her acting skills were great enough to deceive them all.

And speaking of which, she needed to prepare to get into character.

Kagura's cousin, was it?

Certainly a cousin had to be just as cute and agreeable as Kagura herself.

"Ah, just to make sure, do you actually have any surviving relatives?" Erza asked her.

"Some distant relatives who live on a farm somewhere in North Fiore," she replied, "but nobody I keep in touch with. I don't think even anyone in my guild has ever seen or heard of them before."

"A farm!" Erza exclaimed and clutched Kagura by her shoulders, shaking her slightly. "What a romantic idea! Yes, that settles it. I shall be your cousin Kaguya, from the farm."

"Oh, that's amazing! You know all about farming?"

"No, not at all."

Kagura's jaw dropped open. After a few seconds, she seemed to realize it and closed her mouth. "Forgive me for asking," she ventured with a weak smile, "but how are you going to convince them that you're cousin Kaguya from the farm then?"

How adorable she was to be so concerned! But there really was no need. "It'll be fine," Erza assured her. "Jellal doesn't know the first thing about farming either."

Kagura didn't seem very convinced, but she let the matter drop as they had arrived in front of the Blue Pegasus guild. It looked abnormally busy today, compared to the last time she had been here. A line snaked out in front of the guild, and it seemed to be mostly composed of young to middle-aged females.

How wonderful for them, that business had picked up. Erza noticed that Eve was standing outside handing out booklets to the women in line. He too noticed them immediately, and was then by their side in a flash.

"What a lovely surprise to see the ace of Mermaid Heel at our guild today," he said, cozying up to Kagura, who twitched a little. "You are of course always welcome, as are any other lovely ladies from your guild to visit anytime."

"Err... Thank you. I'm just here to show my cousin Kaguya around. She lives on a farm in northern Fiore and came for a visit."

Eve stared at "Kaguya" with a slightly perplexed smile. "Kaguya-san is naturally welcome as well. Forgive me if I'm being rude, but I had assumed that you must be a mage as well since you seem to have an incredible amount of magical power."

He was quite perceptive, but no matter. Erza cleared her throat and said in a voice an octave higher than her own, "H-how kind of you to welcome me to your guild! Thank you! And yes I've been told that before, but I've never had time for magic! Papa needs me to stay with him to help feed the bears."

If anything, Eve seemed even more perplexed. "Feed the bears? Do you have a bear farm, Kaguya-san?"

"No, silly!" Erza laughed. "We feed the bears so they stay away from our stock of sheep and oranges."

"I...see." Eve bowed slightly and handed each of them a booklet. "I would love to chat some more, but duty calls. This here is Blue Pegasus's famed compendium - it features all the mages available for hire, including their name, personal attributes, magic, and popularity ranking. I trust that it will provide you all the information you need to make a decision on who to pick."

"Well that was a disaster..." Kagura muttered as soon as Eve was out of earshot. "Ah, I mean, this booklet looks interesting!"

"Mmm...quite." Erza had seen it before when she was here on the exchange student system. Back then, she had been given a three star popularity ranking, while Natsu, Lucy, and Gray each only had one star.

"That's a surprise," Kagura said, staring at the last few pages of the booklet. "He got four more stars than I thought he would. And did they really take up three pages listing every single magic that he knows? Who's he trying to show off to?"

Erza flipped to the back of the booklet and saw with some surprise that Kagura was correct - under a special guest heading, Jellal did indeed have a five star ranking. And they did indeed list every single magic that he knew. She doubted that he was showing off - it was in Blue Pegasus's nature to be thorough... But wait, when did he learn requip without telling her?

But more importantly, did they really have to wait through this extremely long line to get inside? It looked like it might take hours. But she didn't see any way to skip it without jeopardizing her undercover mission.

"What is this splendid parfum that I smell?" said an extremely unwelcome voice in the direction of the guild.

A shiver went up Erza's spine. She'd know that voice anywhere. At first it would seem deep and smooth, as if it belonged to a gentleman of great intellect and learning. But then as soon as one saw who it actually belonged to, that illusion was immediately and forcefully shattered.

"Yes, yes I would know this parfum anywhere!"

The voice was getting closer. Kagura looked at her in alarm, as if asking her permission to do something.

Erza wasn't entirely sure what to do, but she refused to accept that her undercover mission was going to come to an end like this. And before it even started! No, she would have to use her wits to bluff a way out of this.

Yes, that was what she would do.

"My goodness! Praise Master Bob! Praise be! It is you! You've come to save ussss-..." Ichiya's voice was cut off as he leapt at her and Erza almost reflexively gave him a kick that sent him flying.

Ichiya ended up landing near the entrance, smashing through the wall and leaving a large Ichiya-shaped hole.

Erza now came to the unfortunate realization that nearly everyone nearby was either staring at her or at the Ichiya-shaped hole.

This was not going anywhere near as well as she had planned, but no matter. She refused to give up.

"Oh my!" Erza exclaimed in her false high-pitched voice, running up past the long line with Kagura following close behind.

Ichiya was lying in the middle of a pile of rubble. Ren and Hibiki had already appeared on the scene, armed with a pile of bandages and a comb.

Before any of them could speak, Erza said, still in her false high-pitched voice, "Dear me! I am very sorry, but you gave me quite the scare, sir! But first let me introduce myself! I am Kaguya Mikazuchi, Kagura's cousin! I hail from a farm in North Fiore, one where we must learn to defend ourselves when we're attacked!"

Ren and Hibiki stared at Ichiya, then at her, then at Kagura, and then at each other. Then they fell to their knees and gazed at her as if she was their savior. But then, yet another person appeared on the scene.

"Kaguya...Mikazuchi, is it? Who knew that Kagura had such a charming cousin? I'm afraid that I don't see the family resemblance at all."

Kagura instantly clenched her fists at the sound of his voice. "Jellal."

They both stared at the newcomer, who smiled widely at them.

Erza had been somewhat worried about how he was faring - part of the reason why she had decided to come here - and she was relieved to see that there had been no need to worry. He looked like a vision dressed all in white, though with a baby blue necktie that matched his eyes. Still, there was something off about him, and she couldn't put her finger on what it was.

"You and you," he glanced at Ren and Hibiki, "back to your duties. Don't you know the punishment for slacking off?"

Jellal lifted a hand, and both Blue Pegasus members rose up in the air, as if held by some invisible force. He held them there for a few seconds while they gasped for breath, before depositing them on their feet.

"Help us!" Hibiki gasped, clutching at his neck. "He hasn't slept at all for three days."

"And he won't let us sleep either," Ren added, his eyes bulging out of his head.

Jellal shook his head and sighed. "It reflects quite poorly on your customer service to only think of sleeping when so many clients are awaiting their turn, my friends. What must our clients here think of your lack of spirit?"

"I think this is barbaric," Kagura snapped at him. "Let them sleep."

"Oh, I certainly agree!" said "Kaguya," nodding. "We would not think ill of the poor boys for wanting to sleep!"

Erza was starting to realize that perhaps she should have been more worried for Blue Pegasus. Jellal did have a tendency to take things a bit too seriously and go a bit overboard. Maybe she should send over fifty cakes later as an apology. Or she could offer to work three days at their guild as well. Surely they would find that satisfactory.

"The customer is always right," Jellal smiled and waved his hand.

Hibiki and Ren instantly collapsed to the floor, fast asleep.

"Put them in a back room where they won't disturb the clients," Jellal ordered a nearby Blue Pegasus member. "I'll deal with them later."

"It seems like you have things under control," Kagura commented as his orders were carried out with the utmost speed.

"And you seem to be here checking up on me. To think that I inspired such feelings of concern and worry. I must say, I am quite touched. Such concern deserves to be rewarded."

Jellal snapped his fingers and a nearby mage handed her a square placard. On it was an autographed photo of himself.

"There you have it, proof of life. No need to thank me. I assume that is all?"

Kagura tossed the picture at Erza as if it burned her. "Who wants this sort of thing!" she cried. "And what's wrong with you?"

Erza stared at the photograph. It was certainly quite an interesting photo, so she wasn't sure why Kagura acted like it was on fire. Jellal was staring into the camera, with the top few buttons of his shirt unbuttoned and his baby-blue necktie between his teeth. Perhaps she should get it framed.

But Kagura was right. Jellal was certainly acting different than usual. What had happened to him? Did he eat something strange? Or did he ingest some of the alcohol that they were serving at the bar?

Meredy had told her about one time when Jellal, who usually refused to drink any alcohol whatsoever, was forced to by the guild. Meredy had also refused to tell her exactly what happened, except that everyone but Jellal had ended up naked in one big heap, and that they had never asked him to drink alcohol again after that.

Jellal seemed completely unaffected by Kagura's outburst. "There's nothing wrong with executing to the fullest a role that the guild has bestowed upon me. I am here to help my benefactor, and I assure you, I take that... very... seriously."

So that was it! Erza's heart leapt at the realization that Jellal also was acting in a role, just like her. She had never known that he also enjoyed acting. How wonderful this was. To think that she learned something new about him today, and something that pleased her so greatly. Her mind was instantly abuzz with all the different ways they could enjoy their shared love of acting.

She had never taken him very seriously when he talked on and on about doing good deeds and gaining good karma, but perhaps there might be something real about this?

"I think I'm going to be sick." Kagura didn't seem nearly as impressed.

Jellal crossed his arms and shook his head. "Such petulance. I have to say that it isn't very cute."

"C-cute..." Kagura went pale and started shaking.

Erza decided it was time to step in. "Sir! I am cousin Kaguya from the farm, but I'm visiting Kagura this week and I wanted to learn all about what mages do because it just seems so interesting! Ah, I mean not that living on a farm isn't interesting. What with the constant invasion of our lands by the three big wild animal alliance groups and various others! But no need to worry! I'm friends with all our farm animals and our bonds give me the strength to drive off all invaders!"

Jellal stared at her and for a split second the look in his eyes shifted and it almost seemed like he was about to laugh. But that moment quickly passed and he reverted back to his role.

"My lady cousin Kaguya from the farm," he said, taking her hand and pressing a kiss on it, "I would be honored to be your guide in all things."

"T-thank you!" "Kaguya" nodded vigorously. "I'm sure we'll be safe in your hands."

Jellal raised an eyebrow at that. "One shouldn't be so trusting of strange men you've only just met, cousin Kaguya. And certainly not in a place such as this. They might not have your best interests at heart."

The fact that he still held her hand near his lips while he said this seemed to give him an ominous sort of air. Or was that intended as a joke? Erza wasn't quite sure.

Upon seeing her hesitating, Jellal smiled and released her hand before offering her his arm. "Shall we begin with a tour of this mage guild? And I suppose your cousin can come too, if she likes."

Kagura glared daggers at him and followed without a word as he led them into the guild hall's client reception area.

"Here is the main area of the Blue Pegasus guild hall, home to one of the top guilds in Fiore. Like other types of guilds, members join to find regular employment in the form of client requests and jobs. Unlike other mage guilds, however, Blue Pegasus members meet directly with clients to discuss the particulars of jobs before accepting them. As you can see, the guild hall is set up in a way to ensure privacy and an intimate area in which to engage with clients."

Unlike Fairy Tail with its wide open spaces and many long tables in one large common area, Blue Pegasus's main area was divided into many partially enclosed spaces. The entire area had the feel of a high-class restaurant, with the dimly lit lamps that hung from the ceiling and the relaxing music that was being played in the background.

"All mage guilds have a bar that serves meals and alcohol to its members and visitors," Jellal said as he led them over to the area in question. At least five Blue Pegasus members, all dressed in dark suits, were busying about with orders. Upon seeing them though, they quickly dropped what they were doing and stood at attention.

"G-good day, Jellal-sama. And your c-clients," one of them stuttered. "W-would the ladies like a drink, on the house?"

"That won't be necessary," he said in an unusually sharp tone of voice. "Instead, bring me an order of number twenty-six to client area number seven in five minutes."

"Yes, sir. Right away."

"I probably could've used a drink..." Kagura muttered as Jellal led them away from the bar area.

Erza shrugged. She hadn't touched any alcohol since a certain incident last Christmas. And in any case, she needed to be entirely focused on her acting.

"And back here," Jellal said, stopping by a corridor that led out of the guild's reception area, "are private rooms that are off-limits to clients. They include storerooms for the guild's extremely large collection of formal wear, the library although that's usually just where members go to take naps, Ren's magical tanning room, Ichiya's perfume experimentation chamber, and various other horrors. I shall assume that you do not wish to continue your tour there."

"No, thank you very much!" Erza shook her head vigorously. In fact, the less she knew about Blue Pegasus's private rooms, the better.

"Then let us go to the client area and have a discussion on the terms of this job."

The client area in question was a small sitting area with two small dark sofas facing each other across a rectangular table. Jellal waited for them to sit down on one sofa before taking off his suit jacket and slinging it over the other one.

"Now then, cousin Kaguya," he said as he leaned back on the sofa and crossed his legs, "perhaps you shall tell me more about yourself."

"Ah-What about myself?" Erza was a bit surprised that the subject had turned to her personal details, since this wasn't the usual way of negotiating with a client.

"I've never been on a farm, so I'm intensely curious as to what attracts a young lady such as yourself to the idea of farm life out of all things that you could pick instead. Do be thorough. I assure you that no detail is too trivial."

Jellal had a bit of a twinkle in his eyes, like that of a child looking at his favorite piece of candy.

Erza wasn't quite sure how to answer. To be honest, she had immediately agreed to be Kagura's cousin from the farm simply because she thought it was a romantic idea. And that was simply because the vast majority of ecchi novels that Levy gave her happened to be set on a farm. She had no idea whether real people who lived on real farms were anything like the fictional characters in her novels.

But then again, Jellal wouldn't know either, about farms or ecchi novels.

"I'm the farm owner's only daughter, you see!" Erza began in her chosen role's high-pitched voice. "I did once yearn for a life away from the farm, off in the big cities, but my Papa needs my help. Even though he has plenty of young farmhands to help as well. Yes, very strong, handsome young farmhands who treat me like a princess."

Jellal raised an eyebrow at this. Evidently whatever he was expecting to hear, this wasn't quite it.

"One time when I twisted my ankle falling off a big pile of hay, one of the farmhands carried me around for two whole weeks until I was able to walk around by myself! Yes, he had very strong arms indeed..."

Erza's voice trailed off once she realized that Kagura was red in the face and covering her mouth with her hand. And while Kagura was trying her best not to laugh, Jellal did not look at all amused. Did she say something wrong or funny? It was all so confusing.

"Your order, sir." One of the bar workers appeared with a serving tray, gingerly placed a plate of strawberries covered in chocolate syrup on their table, and then left as quickly as possible.

"Hmm..." Jellal picked up one of the strawberries, the chocolate syrup dripping down his fingers. He ate it slowly before licking his fingers clean. All while Kagura watched in slightly awkward silence and Erza debated whether she should ask for one of those delicious, mouthwatering, succulent strawberries...

But no, she was undercover! She couldn't compromise herself, not even if it was for something so incredibly tempting.

Jellal finished his snack and then looked her straight in the eye. "And I suppose that same farmworker then turned out to be the son of an evil duke who was planning on cheating your father out of his land and building an emu hunting farm instead?"

Erza felt as if she'd been struck by lightning. He actually knew the plot of that particular novel? What on earth was happening? She had been caught in a lie and she wasn't quite sure what to do.

But wait, Jellal read ecchi novels too?

"I have some suspicions that you aren't quite who you say you are, cousin Kaguya," said Jellal as he picked up yet another strawberry. "Lying about your identity is quite the crime. In fact, I think it deserves some punishment. In the private room that they assigned me, perhaps. And needless to say, it is the scariest room of them all."

So that was it. Jellal had somehow figured out her true identity, being able to penetrate even her superb acting skills. Well, she couldn't say that she wasn't proud of him. It took a keen intellect to do what he had just done.

But now it seems he was challenging her. To what, though? Did he want her to drop her transformation and bring an end to today's performance? While he continued on in his own role? Erza could feel her competitive spirit rising. In fact, it burned like a raging fire within her.

This was a battle, one that would test her mettle against a truly worthy opponent. A battle between two actors to see who was more dedicated to their craft. And certainly Jellal would not expect her to go down without a fight.

"I can't believe you have a punishment room," Kagura said, bringing Erza out of her reverie.

"And naturally, you're not invited," Jellal smiled at her.

"Hmph, I'd rather be punished by Erza anyways," Kagura muttered, before realizing that she'd said that out loud. "Ah, I- I didn't mean that! No, don't take that the wrong way...!"

"You seem to be awfully alarmed considering she isn't even here, or is she? Hiding beneath the table, maybe?" Jellal stood up and made a show of looking underneath the table. "Not here. But where else might she be?"

"What's wrong?" Kagura snapped back at him. "Your Erza radar malfunctioning today? Usually it works so well whenever I get to spend some alone time with her."

"But what's this about a punishment room!" Erza said, bringing them back to the main topic. "I don't like the idea of that at all."

"Oh?" Jellal grinned. "Why not?"

"I think we should do the punishment right here."

"Right here," Jellal repeated, as if not sure what he was hearing.

"Yes," Erza gave him a big, bright smile.

It was a risky tactic, to be sure, testing how far he was willing to go with this charade. But if there was one thing that Erza truly believed in, it was that the best defense is a good offense. Sometimes you simply needed to trust in your instincts, give your all, and do an all-out attack.

"Oh? Hesitating now, are we?" Erza decided to press on. "Could it be that you were simply bluffing when declaring your interest in punishment? Or...could it be that you're not who you say you are either? Yes, I knew my original hunch was correct! You are none other than the evil duke's eldest son, the one who seeks to overthrow his father and who secretly enjoys being spanked by the maids. To think that you would now be hiding in a mage guild of all places, foul fiend!"

"Ah, but you are mistaken," Jellal replied, not missing a beat. "I am not the evil duke's son. I am the duke himself, having taken an anti-aging potion in my youth. I am over four hundred years old, and I sparkle beneath the sunlight. And you are not the farm maiden Kaguya, you imposter. You are the shapeshifting assassin who came to seduce me over two hundred years ago to find out the secret of eternal youth, but left me as soon as you found out my secret. Left me utterly broken-hearted with no way to find solace except in emu-hunting."

"What." Kagura looked completely bewildered. "Who wrote this plot? I can't even follow it anymore."

Poor Kagura, no wonder she couldn't follow the plot since Jellal was rewriting it on the spot. That was typical of his fighting style though, being unpredictable and quick on his feet, and likely to pull out new moves that she'd never even seen before at any time. And it was an effective attack since it forced her to respond in kind.

"Trying to paint me as the one who wronged you, you vile, wicked man? I left as soon as I discovered that your supposed emu-hunting trips all over Fiore were nothing more than a cover to gather intelligence for an invasion! How betrayed I felt when it was revealed that you're not from Earthland at all, but rather a castle on the moon! All those hours we spent researching different forms of punishment together, they meant nothing to you! None of it was real!"

Erza wasn't quite as quick at coming up with plots out of thin air, but surely nothing stopped her from switching to another ecchi novel?

She then tried to force a few tears out, but it was so very difficult, so she tried to think of something incredibly tragic. Like Ichiya eating a strawberry cake.

Ah, there came the tears.

Jellal quickly clasped her hand and held it to his heart. "No, I must respectfully disagree. It was all real, all of it! I admit, when I first arrived here on Earthland, I thought it a drab and uninteresting place, only fit for being trampled underfoot. But then you appeared, in all your splendor, with all your whips and chains. And that first time when you tied me up and informed me that this was a robbery, all you managed to steal was my heart. Truly, every day with you was an adventure! I even found myself giving up the invasion plans, and I have to tell you that my clan was very put out! I was so heartbroken when you left without even saying goodbye. And if I had not been shackled to the bed until the servants found me three days later, I would have surely given chase! But now that I've found you again, I'll never let you go again! Won't you take me back again, dearest darling?"

By the end of his speech, Erza was crying for real. It was all just so moving... Jellal's acting skills actually came close to rivaling her own. How unexpected this all was.

"That was beautiful," said a voice behind her, and Erza jumped a little when she saw that they had an audience now. All three of the Trimens were assembled, along with Ichiya and various other members of Blue Pegasus.

And almost all of them were crying as well.

Erza quickly removed her hand from his grasp and wiped away her tears. Jellal's acting was truly first-rate, but that didn't mean she was willing to concede defeat. At this point, she needed to make a strategic withdrawal and deal with him later.

"Ahem!" Erza coughed and stood up with as much dignity as she could muster. "This was a very informative tour of how a mage guild works! Very informative, indeed! I think I've learned as much as I need. I bid you farewell. My farm calls me."

"Oh?" Jellal also stood up and slid in between her and the exit. "I think you're forgetting something."

"W-What?" Erza asked, though she had a bad feeling about this.

"You asked for an overview of what a mage does, and I delivered. But mages don't work for free. There is still the matter of my compensation."

Jellal had a sly smile on his face and Erza mentally shook her fist at him. So he thought he was going to block her exit with something as weak as this? She never stepped out of Fairy Hills with anything less than a hundred thousand jewels, in case she saw something she was in dire need of, like a cute outfit or assortment of cakes.

"Very well, how much will it be?"

"I think one kiss will be satisfactory."

"A k-kiss...?" Erza turned completely red, forgetting her role for a moment. "R-right here?"

In front of all these people? All of whom were staring at her?

Ah, there it was. Her old enemy.

Stage fright.

Erza felt completely paralyzed, unable to move or think.

"Yes, right here." Jellal closed the distance between them in one step and placed a hand on the back of her head.

And suddenly all she could see or even think about were his big blue eyes.

"A k-kiss...?" Erza stammered, not realizing that she was repeating herself.

"Shh..." Jellal placed a finger on her lips and leaned in for the kiss.

Erza closed her eyes. So this was how her undercover mission was going to end? Well, it certainly wasn't an unpleasant ending, not that she ever imagined being defeated like this...

And then the next thing she knew, she felt a strong yank on her arm that caused her to fall backward. Her eyes flew wide open and saw that she had fallen into Kagura's lap.

Kagura then leaned forward and kissed her on the lips.

"Mmph?!" Erza was so confused that she even released her transformation with a "pop," though their audience didn't even seem to notice.

All of them were staring open-mouthed at her and Kagura, including Jellal, who also seemed to have been shocked out of his role.

When Kagura finally released her ten seconds later, all she could do was fall off the other girl's lap and land on the floor, completely speechless.

Jellal then seemed to recover faster than anyone else. He pulled her up and wrapped his arms around her, patting the back of her head. "I'm not sure I want to ask what that was about," he said.

"The two of you were playing a game to see who could get the other to break character, weren't you? I guess I win." Kagura had a rather satisfied smile on her face. "There's an ancient proverb that says, as the clam and wading bird engage in a struggle to the death, each not willing to let the other one go, the passing fisherman captures them both. You're the clam in this example, in case you didn't know."

"I'm not sure traumatizing Erza like this is worth it just to be able to call me a clam," said Jellal. "She's gone all stiff. I might have to carry her home."

"Hmph," Kagura crossed her arms. "It's not like it's the first time I kissed either of you... Oh oops, did I just say that out loud?"

Erza and Jellal stared at each other and then said, "What?" at exactly the same time.

"I- I was unconscious at the time!" Jellal hastily explained. "She was just giving me air. By the time I woke up, she was slamming the hilt of her sword on my chest. For a few seconds, I thought she was trying to kill me."

"It's called doing chest compressions," Kagura remarked. "And you're welcome."

"I-I'm not really sure what happened since I passed out right after," Erza also explained. "Gray had to carry me back to the guild..."

"I offered to help carry you," Kagura said, "but they seemed to think that I'd already helped enough."

"This is getting good," said Hibiki as he passed around buckets of popcorn to his guild members.

"It's quite the comedy of errors," said Ren, "not that I think it's good or anything."

"I wonder if we can ask for an encore of that kiss?" asked Eve.

"Yes, what a magnificent problem we have here," said Ichiya, leaping up onto the table. "But fear not! For I, Ichiya, have come up with the perfect solution!"

"Just as expected of our great teacher Ichiya!" the Trimen were quick to praise.

"This problem has been caused by the three of you kissing the wrong person, so it can only be solved by kissing the right person instead! Yes, all three of you should kiss meee..."

Ichiya's voice trailed off as he got kicked by all three of them at the same time, creating another Ichiya-shaped hole in the wall as he sailed off clear to the next town over.

"I think...we should just forget any of this ever happened," Erza suggested.

"I think...that's probably for the best," Jellal agreed.

Kagura shrugged. "If you say so."

The Blue Pegasus members were still watching them, and still eating popcorn.

"Ah, I'm so sorry!" Jellal exclaimed. "I broke character. I will fix this lapse immediately. In fact, I can offer to stay longer to make up for it if needed."

"No!" Hibiki quickly waved his hands. "That won't be necessary."

"We think you've helped out more than enough," Ren added.

"Yes," said Eve. "You can go now."

"But this suit?" Jellal asked.

"Keep the suit," Hibiki insisted.

"And the tie too," Eve agreed.

"As a symbol of our gratitude," said Ren.

The other Blue Pegasus members all nodded vigorously. 

* * *

 

  
"That was quite the adventure," Jellal said as he took off the baby blue necktie. Contrary to appearances, he didn't actually like wearing formal attire like this suit all that much. It was too stiff, too constricting for someone who was constantly on the move like him. And now that he was finally home in his own cottage, he couldn't wait to get out of it.

He looked up and saw Erza browsing through the books on the shelves that took up a full wall of his bedroom. The top shelf was too high for her, but that didn't stop her from building a rather precarious-looking tower of books to stand on.

He laughed and walked up behind her, pressing his cheek to the small of her back. The cotton of her shirt felt cool to the touch. It was a cute little sleeveless number, with flowery lace trim. Heart Kreuz's spring collection from two years back, he thought.

"Looking for something, are we?" he asked.

"I want to know where you're hiding the ecchi books," she said as she leaned to the right and rifled through his bookshelf. "They have to be here somewhere..."

"Ecchi books? What are those?" Jellal asked with the most innocent expression on his face.

Erza narrowed her eyes at him. "Surely you know exactly what an ecchi book is, Your Grace The Evil Duke Who Sparkles Under The Sunlight."

"Hmm...I don't recall. You'll have to be more specific...and detailed."

"Why you..."

Erza reached for him with one hand and he dodged, causing her to lose her balance while her other hand still held onto the bookshelf. And with that, she fell on top of him while a whole wall of books came crashing down on the two of them.

"Ahh...I guess now I know why Mira is so afraid of books..." Erza said as she climbed out of a small hill of said books. "I suppose they can hurt."

She started to push more books out of the way when she noticed something strange about them. The inner covers of a few were peaking out from underneath their jackets, and they looked nothing like those jackets. She started stripping the covers off all the books she could reach before turning to Jellal, who by now was sitting up and laughing.

"These are all ecchi books!" Erza exclaimed, throwing one of them at him.

Jellal caught the book and grinned. "Took you long enough to figure it out."

"You...you..." Erza started to say before she started laughing as well. "You're quite sneaky. I had no idea."

"There's nothing wrong with taking an interest in something that my adorable girlfriend loves so much."

"Hmph," Erza pouted. "There's a difference between taking an interest and building a library of them like you've done here."

"That's true..." Jellal crawled over to her and ran a finger along the side of her face before brushing a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "I might have gone a bit overboard again. Will you forgive me?"

"Only if I get full access to your library."

"Of course," he laughed and pressed a kiss on her lips.


End file.
